


Quiet Game

by Magpie_Crow



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:41:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24025270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magpie_Crow/pseuds/Magpie_Crow
Summary: Patton was winning the quiet game, and he had been for twenty years running. His soulmate wouldn't change that, not for love or money.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders
Comments: 6
Kudos: 168





	Quiet Game

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this fic a year ago and then forgot about it. 
> 
> It was probably going to continue and be angsty, but then I re-read it today and thought "hey, this is funny and I like it" so. 
> 
> I've gotten worse at angst ever since my living situation changed for the better. I kinda like it.

_“I’ve been winning the Quiet Game for twenty years, I’m not losing now no matter how cute the boy is.”_

Virgil Ward’s soulmark was confusing, to say the least. In fact, the only redeeming quality to it was how utterly unusual it was. 

When the first thought that your soulmate has upon seeing you is your soulmark, things can get pretty muddled, pretty quick. Soulmarks could be extremely generic or impossibly wild. In fact, most people went about their lives without worrying much about whether they found their ‘perfect match’ or not, and that was what Virgil intended to do.

Before he got his soulmark, that is. He didn’t think he had ever been more curious about anything before in his entire eighteen years. Virgil Ward was determined to find out how, exactly, one won the Quiet Game twenty years running.

~~

Patton Foster stopped talking at the age of five. 

No one knew why, and Patton wasn’t saying anything, but Dot and Larry Foster took it in stride and continued loving their son as best they knew how. They tried taking him to speech therapy, and when that didn’t work, a regular therapist, but they never got any kind of answer. 

“He seems like he just doesn’t want to talk, Mrs. Foster. I’m not sure what I can do.”

Well, if anything could be said about the Foster family (although quite a lot could be said), they were determined. Patton was enrolled in sign-language classes post-haste, and took to them like a duck to water. 

When his soulmark came in, it couldn’t have been less of a surprise. 

_“Why didn’t I take sign-language instead of French?”_

~~

Patton swore he wouldn’t ever start talking again. By the time he started college, he hadn’t spoken in so long he wasn’t sure if he knew how. 

The boy in purple in the corner was pretty cute though. The first time Patton saw him in class, a few weeks ago, he almost opened his mouth to say something… However, his dedication to the quiet game put paid to that. To his relief and disappointment, the other boy didn’t seem to notice him at all.

Oh well. 

~~

Virgil knew he had felt his mark send a tiny spark through his skin on his first day of classes, but they all ran together when there were so many people and noises. 

He was in class with his soulmate, at least once a week, and he didn’t know who it was or what class it was in.

His luck was the worst, and then he met Roman Prince. 

“Greetings, Emo Nightmare! What brings your doom-y, gloom-y, and dark costume-y self to the theater department today?”

“You really pushed for that rhyme, didn’t you?”

“Excuse you! A prince has got to slay!”

“Sure, sure. I came to learn the tech setup, where’s Joan?”

Roman gestured dramatically towards the back of the theater. “Back there, Negative Nancy.” 

Virgil ducked his head in assent and headed back to the sound booth. 

He met Roman in his Intro to Creative Writing class. Roman was loud, outgoing, and flamboyant, Virgil’s exact opposite. He chattered about friends, about Disney, anything that interested him. He spoke with his mouth, his hands, even his body language. 

It was almost as if he grew up signing along with his words.

~~

“Hola, Papa Piccolo! How were your finals?” Patton grinned up at Roman from his seat on the edge of the fountain. 

“Good. Tests, you pass?” He appreciated that Roman didn’t need any time to parse out what he signed. 

“I think so, Padre. Have you seen calculator watch?”

“No. Tests, Logan study” Roman drooped, and Patton grinned. His two best friends, Roman and Logan, had known they were soulmates for years. They all met after Patton stopped speaking, and the three had been inseparable ever since. 

Patton sometimes hoped he would meet his soulmate soon. 

~~

The play ended with rousing success, and Virgil found himself coerced into attending the cast party. Roman asked the organizers if he could bring his soulmate, and they told him to bring anyone he wanted. 

The invitation was extended to all the cast and crew. 

Virgil didn’t have a soulmate to bring with him. Not yet. 

~~

The party was winding down, and Roman Prince still hadn’t arrived. Most of the guests had trickled away, leaving a few sleepy stragglers. Virgil wanted to see the kind of person got stuck with Roman for the rest of their lives. 

He wanted to console the poor fool. 

“What should we do now?” Joan lounged on the couch, Talyn’s legs in their lap. 

“Party games?” Terrence had parked himself on a barstool early on and stayed there.

“I suggest the quiet game.” Virgil was nearly dozing in the big armchair, his eyes slipping shut.

“GREETINGS!” Everyone startled as Roman burst into the room, arm wrapped around a stiff looking fellow in a polo and tie. “Another friend is coming, too, he just wanted to fix his hair.” 

Prince’s companion rolled his eyes. “That statement is facetious. Patton simply had to tie his shoe.”

“That’s beside the point, Specs. I must introduce you! Everyone and Virgil, this is my wonderful soulmate Logan! Logan, this is everyone and Virgil.”

“Singling me out, Sir-Sing-A-Lot?”

“Yes, but I like that nickname, so hah! What are we doing?”

“The quiet game!” Talyn sounded excited about the prospect now that Roman was in the room.

Roman and his soulmate looked at each other with a gleam in their eyes.

The door creaked open, and they turned in unison.

“Fair Father! We’ve decided to play the quiet game!”

The new arrival sighed and signed something to the two. 

He was hot. Why did Virgil take French instead of sign language?

~~

Somehow, the quiet game was Roman’s fault. Patton wasn’t sure how, but it was. He liked to say that he was winning the quiet game all the time, but it wasn’t as fun when other people were playing and he had to sit out. 

He signed an expletive at his friends half-heartedly.

His soulmark shocked him, and he looked around, straight into the eyes of the cute boy from his Psych class. 

~~

He was making eye-contact with Roman’s hot friend. Virgil would be embarrassed about his staring if the hot friend hadn’t been staring right back at him. Then hot friend scowled, lifted his foot to take off his shoe, and threw it at Roman, who yelped.

“What did I do??”

~~

“Soulmate.”  Roman gaped at him, still rubbing his arm where Patton’s shoe had connected. “You know?”

“Of course not! Who-“ He turned, taking note of the cute boy who was still staring in Patton’s direction. “You’re kidding.”

“What?”

“You and Panic! At the Everywhere?”

“Be nice.”

Roman huffed and looped an arm through Patton’s, pulling him over to the cute boy. 

~~

Prince was bringing hot friend towards him. Virgil was not prepared for this AT ALL. 

“Well, JDelightful, it seems you and my dear friend are soulmates!”

Virgil looked to hot friend for confirmation. Hot friend was grinning shyly and nodding. It took him a moment to think things through, and then-

“How have you been winning the quiet game for so long?”

Hot friend sighed heavily. 

Roman’s soulmate was laughing in the background.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope y'all enjoyed! 
> 
> I set up a Discord server! <https://discord.gg/gtWgvQ4>  
> Join me to talk about my writing and stuff!
> 
> Find more on tumblr @we-are-fam-ily


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